Release: How to name a release that is not ready for production
What’s this issue all about?
I would like to find out how to name a label in GitLab CI/CD that would allow users identify when a release is not ready for production.
What questions are you trying to answer?
Should we call a release that is not ready for production a Pre-release
, Draft release
, In progress release
, or something else?
Details around the issue can be found here https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/38105. Here some discussion threads on the difference between pre-release
and draft release
: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/38105#note_174283523, https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/38105#note_176781729, https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/38105#note_176832507.
What assumptions do you have?
- That
draft
means a release was not published yet.- "A draft would be like I'm working on typing up release notes for a release but not ready to publish it therefore I want to save it as a draft to come back to later to actually save as a release or pre-release."
- That
pre-release
is the best term to refer to a release is not ready for production.- "Pre-release would be the much better word to indicate alpha/beta/rc releases."
What decisions will you make based on the research findings?
We will take the results as the name for a release that is not ready for production.
What's the latest milestone that the research will still be useful to you?
12.0
Results
We had a total of 66 responders. See results on #212 (comment 179780760)
The ‘Pre release’ option was selected by a majority of participants:
The three most common reasons given by participants for selecting ‘Pre release’ were:
- ‘Pre’ indicates before (e.g. “Because pre means just before release”)
- It just feels right (e.g. “It felt simple and it works”)
- It is already a common term (e.g. “Its what we currently use in our workflow”).
In addition to the options we provided, 7 participants (11% of the total answers) provided alternative suggestions using the "Other" option. Several of these responses included more than one suggestion:
- Beta [3 participants]
- Alpha [2 participants]
- Unstable [2 participants]
- Canary release
- Nightly
- Release Candidate
The primary reason participants gave for coming up with their suggestion is that their suggestion is an already familiar term. For example, one of the participants who suggested “Beta” gave the justification “Because every developer knows this word”.
General feedback on GitLab CI/CD
80% of the participants are familiar with GitLab CI/CD (68% use it currently). The general feedback provided by those 80% on GitLab CI/CD is mostly extremely positive (e.g. “Its really awesome, I nearly use it in every project”). No strong trends were identified on suggestions for improvements.
UXR Recommendation
Go with Pre release, as it felt like a familiar and/or straightforward term for a substantial amount of participants.